It is 40 below. Half my youth group kids didn't go to school today because it was too cold. (Although mostly all of them came out for youth group tonight - shows where the priorities are!). The whole city seems to be in hibernation. Icy roads,exposure warnings (for the west-coasters, that's when they tell you that you have a certain amount of time before any any exposed skin will freeze in the cold). GOOD TIMES! I feel complacent...No, just tired. Not really sleepy tired, just mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually drained. So much going on.
Could be because we had turkey for dinner too. Ha ha...That was an adventure. My mom took the potatoes off too soon and I was none the wiser. She told me to mash them and so I did, and then we ended up with a big pot of well...Thick, gluey, wall paper paste potatoes. My dad sang songs all dinner about the different things we could use them for...Like spackle, or brick mortar, or paper mache...
My mom laughed so hard she was gasping for breath by the end of dinner and the tears were in free flow. I told her she should go into business. It was a good night.
Last night we heard Todd Bentley preach at Tehillah Monday. It was really good. I am trying to discern if I feel a call to missions, or if I'm just scared of going to school and so stalling by looking for distractions. Three cheers for rabbit trails!
I cut myself on our new Cutco knives today too. First day with 'em too...Not badly, but enough to bleed all over and still hurt when I touch it. My mom was not impressed. I told her I was breaking them in. No dice.
So the job search continues. I got a phone call yesterday and may have a new prospect. We'll see how it goes. I really want to go to school. Or at the very least find something I love. I am tired of feeling trapped.
So I got this little questionnaire and thought that I would copy ad paste it to my blog, just in case some of you may feel you don't know me well enough.

Name: cara henry
nickname: Cha
favorite color: pink
If you were deserted on an island what 3 things would you take with you: a boat, some gas and some food.
Favorite Star: Gemini (the 2nd star in the handle of the big dipper)
Favorite juice: Cran-raspberry
If you could be an appliance, what would you be? The toaster...No one ever suspects the toaster.
5 things you're thankful for: God's grace, lip balm, my family, slurpees, my guitar.
Favorite song: Is that a trick question?
Favorite restaurant: Subway
Dogs or cats: Dogs
Favorite Scripture: Psalm 27

So...ya..Hopefully that was fun for you. God is just so faithful I am reading Psalms right now and He is so patient with our shortsightedness and so gracious even when we freak out. (Speaking from a little experience I had yesterday called a breakdown). Sometimes life is just too much to handle. But I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Praise be to God. Grace and Peace,
Cha

Yarrr!...And a fine day to all of yous, mateys! Sick. I sound like my brother. Have I too now succumed to the glorious life of a buccaneer?...For any of you who have seen my brother since the release of Pirates of the Caribbean, you will understand. Kevin has banned him from seeing the Last Samurai in fear of having to live with a katana-wielding pirate/ninja. Again, for those of you who know him...You'll know what I mean.
So it's a miserable blizzarding winter outside. It was beautiful until yesterday and then BAM. Apparently we have used up all of our nice day vouchers. I was hoping winter would end early this year because it came before thanksgiving, but we'll see. It still may.
So in other news, I have been laid off. Yup, tis true. I have joined the ranks of the "between-jobs". It's been frustrations, a little scary, humbling and probably one of the best things for me. God has informed me that I am in "Spiritual surgery #2" (the first being in Jesus School).
From February I went through a deep time of breaking, and I had to loose a lot of the emotional defenses and learn to be real, to accept some difficult truths and learn to trust.
NOW...I am suddenly feeling like the ceiling is caving in on me. Through a series of events, I have lost some security that I had found in friends, I have lost the security of a job and a steady income, and am now questioning what I thought I had figured out - my future in regards to the career and the school I had chosen. It is a trying time for me. But gotta have more death, right? God told me specifically that I would experience three different seasons of "surgery" - where he would be taking things away and replacing them with His truths so ya...GOOD TIMES!
He has been very patient with me through my emotional freakouts and stupidity - like when He writes the answer down right in front of me and I still fail the test! (and so have my family and friends for that matter!)
I am also very excited about some of the new stuff coming out on the music scene - both secular and Christian, although I prefer to call it "uplifting" and "not-so-uplifting". I just think that if some of the most powerful worship experiences I've had have been through "secular" music, then it's not about whether it's Christian or not.
So without further ado, the "GRANNY AWARDS ACCORDING TO CHA"

Best New Worship Album:
"Dwell" - the new one from the vineyard. It combines a lot of really cool sounding guitar licks, smoking percussion with really accessible, singable songs. The recording quality is really good, the band is tight and most of the songs are well written. Plus the bonus DVD toolkit really lets you into the hearts of worship leaders and the band and the tutorial lets you play it like them...well, one maybe day! Super cool chords and arrangements.

Best New(er) Worship Songs:
Dwell - Casy Corum (Of the Dwell CD)
Alive in this moment - Starfield
Always Known You - Ten Shekel Shirt (off the album Risk)
You Are My King (Amazing Love) - Newsboys (off the album Adoration)
Grace like Rain - Todd Agnew

Best New(er) Stuff Out:
Unwell - Matchbox 20
So far away - Staind
Deliverance - Bubba Sparxx
What do you believe - Grits feat. Jennifer Knapp
Where is the love - Black Eyed Peas
Will You - P.O.D.
Fallen - Sarah McLaughin
Move - John Reuben
Resurrection - Sevin
Here without you - 3 Doors Down
Ohh Ahh - Grits
Numb - Linkin Park
My Immortal - Evanesce
Perfect - Simple Plan
Life is short - John Reuben
Heaven-Live
Tear - Warren Bainright(?)
More To Life - Stacie Orrico
The first cut is the deepest - Sheryl Crow
You Dance - EastMountainSouth
Someday - Nickelback

New Albums Out (rated out of 5)
John Reuben - Professional Rapper (****)
Adoration - Newsboys (***)
3 Doors Down - Away from the sun(*****)
Vineyard Music - Dwell (*****)
Sarah McLaughlin - Afterglow (*****)
Ten Shekel Shirt - Risk (***)

New Stuff I Haven't Heard Yet (But I Want To)

P.O.D.'s New album - sounds like it'll be really good. They got a new guitarist, so we'll see.

Jobie's New CD Should be coming out soon - apparently he recorded it with the Rock N Roll Worship Circus? (That's what he told my brother). Should be cool.

The Outkast CD! - On their new disc, the 2 members split up and separately each did an album - can you say 2 for one! I don't like some of their stuff for (obvious) moral reasons, but other tracks are great! "Fellas...what's cooler than cool?...ICE COLD"

And thank you for being a part of the first "GRANNY AWARDS"...stay tuned! More to come when I get another job so I can buy some new CD's!

Well, Hello!
It's been a long time, or so it seems, since I've written an update. So much has happened at once! It feels like I got home, got off the airplane and my life exploded. But let's start with my exciting trip home.
So I went to the airport with Christa and Jeff - who graciously drove me all the way to Abbotsford. We stopped in and visited Kristy for awhile. It was so great to see her again. Kristy I missed you!!!
So then by the time we got to the Abbotsford airport there was a wicked windstorm - I could barely get the door to Jeff's car open! So they delayed my flight for 2 hours while they had to "de-ice" the plane. We grabbed a bite to eat and finally, after waiting for 2 and a half hours, I boarded the plane at 7:30pm. I got to Calgary at 9pm Calgary time, to be greeted by my dad and Chad who had been waiting there since 5:30 - oops! I tried calling, I really did, but I couldn't get ahold of anyone. Oh well...They had fun in the Spaceport building missions to Mars on a simulator thing.. Chad's blew up and all the crew were all killed or something. I laughed so hard.
So since then, my job hours have been cut down to 3 days a week, which means it's time for Cha to find a new job, um I am getting all my stuff together to apply at school at the end of the month, the church approached me to be elected as a member of the board of elders (thanks, now I do feel old!) but I declined because I just have too much on my plate right now, and so on.
Youth has been good...For any of my Jesus Schoolers...Last night I transformed the big room in my basement into an Itlalian Cafe, complete with red checker table cloths and white Christmas lights, candles, bruschetta and we had an official...MAFIA NIGHT! It got pretty intense, but a good time was had by all.
So all in all life has been pretty good. I went to Ikea the other day and got curly bamboo and a few other things. YAY! My craving has been satisfied. Mmmm....I love Ikea!
And that's about it. May the Lord bless you & keep you! Love Cha.